River Landforms (DP IB Geography)

Revision Note

Upper Course Landforms

Waterfalls

  • Occur on horizontally bedded rocks

  • Soft rock is undercut by hydraulic action and abrasion

  • Due to the weight of the water and no support, the waterfall collapses and retreats upstream

  • Over thousands of years, waterfalls may create a gorge

Formation of a waterfall 

Diagram of a waterfall showing hard and soft rock layers, undercutting, overhang, rocks falling into the plunge pool, and the direction of waterfall retreat.
The formation of a waterfall

Middle & Lower Course Landforms

Meanders

  • Meanders are formed in rivers due to the combination of erosion and sediment deposition processes

  • The river erodes the outer bank of a bend, creating a cutbank

  • Deposition occurs along the inner bank, forming a point bar

  • As the water flows faster along the outer bend (cutbank) it erodes the bank more, deepening the channel

  • Sediment is deposited along the inner bend (point bar), causing the bank to build up

  • Over time, erosional and depositional processes cause the river to develop a sinuous, meandering course

Cross-section through a meander

Cross-section diagram of a river meander with labeled areas showing the slowest flow on the inside curve and fastest flow on the outside, cutbank, erosion, point bar, and deposition.
Meander formation

Floodplains

  • When a river floods, a floodplain is formed

  • Alluvium is a mixture of sand and gravel that is eroded on the outside of the meander

  • Floodplains are built up by channel deposition

  • Floodplains consist of finer materials

Levees

  • A landform of deposition

  • Levees are raised banks

  • Coarse material is deposited near the channel

  • Finer material is deposited and carried to the floodplain

  • Levees are found on the edge of the river

  • They are formed by repeated flooding

  • When a river floods, the river’s energy is reduced

  • Coarse material is dropped first and then lighter material 

  • Over time, the levees build up from coarse material

Floodplain and levee formation

Diagram depicting the formation of floodplains and levees: 1. Wide flat valley formed by meander migration. 2. Sediment layers smallest to largest. 3. Levees heighten with each flood.
The formation of floodplains and levees

Deltas

  • Deltas are formed when streams flow into standing bodies of water

  • Rivers must carry a large amount of sediment for deltas to form

  • Flocculation increases deposition

  • Bioconstruction increases deposition

  • Delta formation must have a rapid drop in stream velocity

  • There are a variety of delta formations, such as arcuate and bird’s foot

Types of delta

types-of-delta

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